Hazal Kaya under heavy criticism for promoting Lancome during Imamoglu protests

The arrest of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) former Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu amid a corruption investigation, has triggered widespread protests across Türkiye.

During the protests, an image of a demonstrator holding a sign with a well-known cosmetic brand’s name went viral. Turkish actress Hazal Kaya, who is one of the brand’s ambassadors, noticed the image and shared it on her social media account with the caption, “Proud of this,” adding, “Is this an ad just because the brand is visible?”

Kaya’s social media post ignites debate

However, her post quickly drew criticism, with many accusing her of prioritizing brand visibility over the essence of the protests. Some social media users claimed Kaya was leveraging a political crisis to promote her sponsor, leading to an outpouring of discontent.

In addition, Kaya’s being an advertisement face in the cosmetics brand, which is the subject of Hazal Kaya‘s post, attracted the attention of X users and they reacted with questions such as “How much money did you get for advertising?”.

Actress deletes post and issues apology

As reactions intensified, Kaya removed the post and issued a clarification. “I intended to support the visibility of the protest with a lighthearted comment, but it seems to have been misunderstood. May your mascara not smudge, may your path be smooth,” she wrote in an attempt to defuse the controversy.

Who is Hazal Kaya?

Born on Oct. 1, 1990, in Istanbul, Kaya studied at Gaziosmanpasa Primary School before attending the Italian High School in Istanbul. She later enrolled in Istanbul Bilgi University’s Performing Arts and Management department in 2009. Raised in Balat, Kaya comes from a family of lawyers.

Her early interest in the arts led her to start violin lessons at the age of 4.5 and ballet at 7. During high school, she was actively involved in theater and music while also modeling for advertisements. Her first television appearance was in the 2006 series Acemi Cadi, where she had a minor role.

Kaya gained recognition in 2007 when she starred in Genco, followed by her role as Nihal Ziyagil in Ask-i Memnu, an adaptation of Halit Ziya Usakligil’s novel. Her film debut came in 2011 with Calgi Cengi, directed by Selcuk Aydemir. She later honed her acting skills under the tutelage of Ayla Algan at Ekol Drama and continued training with Umit Cirak.

Fluent in Turkish, English, Italian, and German, Kaya solidified her status in the entertainment industry with her lead role in Adini Feriha Koydum alongside Cagatay Ulusoy in 2011. She went on to star in films like Ay Buyurken Uyuyamam and Bu Son Olsun before returning to television with Son Yaz-Balkanlar 1912 and Itirazim Var.

In 2014, Kaya earned an international excellence medal in the Ichaps awards, ranking among the world’s most influential figures in the arts. Her later projects include Maral: En Guzel Hikayem and the hit series Bizim Hikaye, the Turkish adaptation of Shameless, in which she played Filiz.